4000310515center Essays - The Great Gatsby, Film,

4000310515center 9/28/20173300095000 9/28/2017420003263900880008851265 Sanvir Gill 450000 Sanvir Gill 420003263900175001760220 The Great Gatsby Journal Assignment450000 The Great Gatsby Journal Assignment Chapter 1-3 Summary The novel opens with the narrator of the story, Nick Carraway. Nick introduces his fathe r's advice that had received when he was younger, and it has stuck with him ever since. The advice Nick's father gave him was "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." Nick states that this advice from his father has made him inclined to reserve judgement. By Nick narrating that he reserves judgement, it gives the reader the first piece of information on a character. We now know that Nick reserves his judgement, or at least attempts to. Further into the no vel, Nick moves to west egg to begin his career as a Bond man. Nick rents a small house in the middle of 2 huge neighbouring homes, more signifi cantly, beside a man as Gatsby. Nick visits his distant cousin Daisy, who lives with his Yale class member Tom. Jordan is introduced to Jordan Baker, a famous golfer. Nick is also introduced to the oppression that Daisy adheres on a daily basis from Tom. After visiting Daisy, Nick returns home and sees his neighbour, Gatsby staring and reaching out for the green light on Daisy's dock. In the following chapter, we are taken to a new setting, known as the valley of ashes. This new setting represents poverty. Subsequently w e are introduced to Tom's mistress Myrtle and her husband George Wilson , as well as an important symbol known as the billboard of the eyes of doctor T.J Eckleburg, that watch over the valley of ashes like the eyes of God. Nick is forced to spend the day with Tom and Myrtle and he later witnesses Tom hitting her and breaking her nose for mentioning Daisy. Afterwards, Nick realizes that one of the reasons behind Gatsby's popularity is because of his huge parties. Nick is the only person to receive an invite, so he is intrigued and decided to go. Nick finally meets Gatsby for the first time and he is surprised by the way Gatsby acts like such a gentleman. Gatsby then tells Jordan something privately but is not able to tell Nick just yet. Following the party, Nick be gins a relationship with Jordan, however he also claims that she is dishonest. Personal Response In my opinion the beginning chapters of the novel are very thought-provoking and demonstrate the true potential of the novel. I believe that the advice Nick's father had given him as a child is solid advice and could be used to prevent early judgement towards a person. The advice has really stuck with me because now when I begin to judge somebody right away I remember that I may have some advantages that they do not and therefore I should reserve my judgement. This has really helped me grow and will prove to be very helpful in the future because it has changed my perspective on judgement. This advice from his father also revealed what I think is a very important part of Nick's personality. He believes that he reserves his judgement however in his actual life he creates judgements of people very quickly. Knowing that Tom is cheating on Daisy and abusive to Myrtle makes me feel angry. This is because I know the novel takes place in the 1920s and in this time, a man of power and wealth such as Tom had the ability to do anything he wanted. However, his actions really demonstrate that he has a very aggressive and deceiving personality. Another thing about this situation that makes me angry and sad is that Daisy does not have the ability to leave Tom even though she knows perfectly well about the other woman. In these 3 chapters, various symbols are also introduced including the green light. The green light symbolizes Gatsby's desires and dreams and Gatsby often attempts to reach out and grab it. This tells us that Gatsby is set on his goals and wants to achieve them very desperately. I feel that having an